The PEG tour rolls-out a stellar production to showcase an immensely talented cast of twenty who gamely deliver ALL SHOOK UP‘s irresistible Elvis songs matched with Joe DiPietro‘s rapid-fire riff on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Like the regional, community and school productions that came before it, the PEG tour is earning rave reviews.

ALL SHOOK UP, one of a wave of Jukebox Musicals that crested in New York and London in the 2000′s, hit Broadway in 2005, with break-out performances from Cheyenne Jackson and Jenn Gambatese. Broadway, and the West End perfected the Jukebox Musical phenom in the first decade of the new century and it’s no wonder. Depending on your definition of what is now an widely recognized genre of Musical Theatre, no fewer than 40 new Jukes were launched in the ‘ots! From 2001′s LOVE, JANIS to the just-closed FELA!, musicals featuring the assembled songs of beloved artists or eras have become a defining part of the modern Musical Theatre landscape.

My dear friend, who I assume is the sole reader of this blog, told me last week that I need to write more. So as I reach the halfway point on my tour with PEG’s national tour of All Shook Up I am writing this one just for Josh.

Our first week was spent in New Jersey and Pennsylvania which meant that our shows were within striking distance of much of my extended family on my Father’s side. So coordinating tickets and communicating schedules pushed me to the limits of my social networking capabilities. Happily, my two cousins who are closest in age to me managed to trek down to Uniontown to see the show. They admitted to me that they were a little late getting to the theater and I laughed because so was the cast bus! About an hour and half outside of town our bus got a flat tire and we were stranded by the side of the road. A service truck was called along with the crew bus driver, who was put on alert that he may have to come find us. As the driver of the service truck worked on our little problem, the time ticked by for what seemed like eons. For some reason the tow truck was unable to fix our issue immediately so the crew bus was called and arrived back at our bus at precisely the same moment as our crew’s bus. The tire was changed, but we arrived at the theater fifteen minutes after the curtain was supposed to go up! It was hectic, but at least my family didn’t miss a moment and I got to spend some time with them after the show was done.

The following week included some blissful time off in Colombus, OH and Birmingham, AL where I was able to reunite with some dear friends and head to some of my favorite tourist attractions. However, dear reader, you will have to click over to http://adventuresinbrookeland.weebly.com to hear about my time there.If there is one thing this tour has taught me it is that I know someone everywhere! I had two awesome reunions the last week of January one planned one a surprise, both unofficially adopted siblings from one of my many past lives. Desiree has been teaching in Mississipi for about two years and seems to be doing wonderfully. Jeremy moved back to South Carolina, and despite the fact that he prefers tall girls, under 20, who are skinny enough for him to climb up there rib cage like a ladder, I love my little brother from Young American’s to pieces. It was fantastic to be able to share what my life has become, a series of hotels and groups of people spontaneously breaking out into song and choreographed dance, with each of them!.

And then there was Florida. Blissful, five days at one hotel, heavenly, some rehearsal, relaxing, fun venues, warm - Florida. That was when I really got to settle into the show and reaffirmed that I love this role, this crew, and this cast. Oh and I went to Disneyworld - FOR FREE!!!

After that you could say the crazy travel portion of our tour commenced and is still happening. Thankfully, we have had some evenings off in incredible towns like Dallas and Davenport. There was a three story water slide in the hotel in Topeka, I got to see a friend from YA’s do a production of All Shook Up at Circa 21, and, best of all, I reconnected with Josh, the inspiration for this blog, on a side trip to Austin.

Every time things get difficult, my back hurts from being on the bus for so long, or I get no sleep because we have a 4:45 a.m. bus call, or our lead quits the show and we have to add rehearsals in the towns that I, inevitably, know people in, I wrap myself in the warm blanket that is the fact that I get to do a musical, and travel all over this incredible country!